Immortal Skull
by wolfsrainrules
Summary: Skull told them from the beginning: 'Immortal Skull'. Most just assumed it was a nickname from the stunts, but no. Skull is very very old and very tired. Eons pass and he descends into apathy. The Curse happens and he wakes up to hope. (In which Skull is an immortal BAMF. HUGE AU.) (Cover by Freerunner4427)
1. Chapter 1

**Hugely AU. BAMF! Skull. **

**He doesn't get nearly enough love. This is gonna be a drabble kind of thing with shorter chapters and WILL have a happy ending to be clear.  
This was actually based off a dream I had where I heard a 'voice over' kind of thing from Skull's POV. It was amazing. So I'm sharing. **

**KHR is not my Sandbox I just like building sandcastles in it.**

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Immortal Skull.

He told them right off that he was such. He never really _hid_ the fact he couldn't die. Most just assumed he had gotten the nickname from all the miraculous brushes with death that he walked away from. 'Even the Grim Reaper hates me…' he told them.

Not quite.

Skull was very, very old, and very tired.

He was immortal, and to be frank Skull wished he wasn't. He didn't understand why so many people wanted to 'live forever'.

It wasn't fun. It was one long haze of one loss after another. After the first hundred years it had become so very tiring. Some things could shock him, and things were always progressing, but Skull had forgotten more than most people would ever learn in their lifetimes.

He was so very tired of watching the people he loved grow old and pass on and _knowing_ with a horrifying certainty that he would never be able to join them in the afterlife or whatever came next.

So very tired.

He wanted it all to end, had been searching for a very long time for a way to manage it.

Then the Arcobaleno Curse happened.

Skull had descended into a state of apathy for such a long time. It was the applying of the curse that 'woke' him to the world around him again. This was new. This was something he hadn't seen before, something that may be able to _help_ him.

He was cursed to live forever after all, so the idea of something that could _reverse_ age?

Perhaps it could 'cancel' his immortality somehow?

Skull had descended into apathy.

He woke up to hope.


	2. Chapter 2

For the first time in _millennium_ Skull was actually honestly taking in the world around him.

He was always peripherally aware of what he was doing, what he was seeing around him, had always stuck to his morals even when he was only really 'going through the motions' so to speak. Occasionally something would even rouse him from his state of apathy, would gain more of his attention than the minimum needed to interact with it, like the Primo Vongola and what he had done in giving rise to the Vigilante Group he called Vongola.

(And wouldn't _that_ be funny? If people realized Skull had been there from the beginning of Vongola, had been honestly loyal to them until Vongola had let go of its roots and descended into blood and darkness?)

While some people and certain moments had roused him a bit from the state he had placed himself into to protect his mind from the endlessness of forever, of one loss after another, of watching the world repeat the same mistakes and being unable to really _do_ anything to change what he had seen over and over and over again, Skull had not _truly_ been awake in a very long time.

The applying of the curse changed that.

It gave him an honest reason to 'wake up' and focus, to interact fully and completely with the world around him. It gave him hope that he could form bonds again, honest deep bonds of love and friendship like he had formed way, _way_ back in the beginning when he hadn't truly understood what it would mean to never die, and to watch children he had played with and loved, to watch _his_ children, grow and age and die while he forever stood a young ageless 23 years old: unchanging.

He had hope for the first time that this endlessness would _have_ an end.

So Skull 'woke up'.

The other Arcobaleno had pegged him as a weakling, as the weakest link in their chain. After the Curse was applied and he 'woke' to the world he was _very_ quick to disabuse them of that notion. One could not start out where he had, live as long as he had, seen as much as he had seen, do the things he had done, or be chosen as _one of the World's Strongest Seven_ without becoming one Bad Ass Motherfucker.

And Skull?

He may not have been acting like much of one in his previous state of apathy, but he certainly was a Bad Ass Motherfucker, thank you.


	3. Chapter 3

Skull, way back before he was 'Skull' before he had known he would have 'forever' before he had been lost to apathy and loss and death, before everything he had seen, was actually a Warrior of Atlantis.

That's right.

Skull was from that 'mythical' Great City.

He had been taught by his father to be a great defender of the Royal Family and the weak.

Skull had been one of the 'strongest' even before the Arcobaleno, blazing through his training and very quickly becoming the undisputed 'top dog' in Atlantis bowing only to his King and Queen. (Even his General did not receive a bowed head from Skull, only his loyalty and respect until Skull had risen been promoted to General himself.)

Atlantis had been a very large city, had been the most advanced of its time, and even eons later it _still_ had some technology that far outstripped anything Skull had seen since its fall, and the entire place had been a city of Warriors. Even the scholars had been warriors, had been powerful and dangerous, and Skull had stood undisputed at the top of the pile.

He can remember the Fall of Atlantis quite vividly despite the eons that had passed.

His childhood home had been placed in the very center of what the people of the world now called The Bermuda Triangle and it had been an earthquake-volcanic eruption combination that had taken it down.

The fall of his home was also the day Skull had discovered he was immortal.

Not dying did not mean '_no pain'_ just to be clear.

He had been caught by the lava, herded away from its heat and further into the city. The earthquake had been like nothing he had ever seen, literally destroying the ground beneath his feet , ripping giant holes and fractures into his Island home that quickly filled with ocean water.

Eventually he had fallen into the ocean water- superheated from the lava that was pouring into it though not so hot it melted his flesh from his bones- and the rubble of his island home had followed him down into the water where it had knocked him out.

Skull knew he had drowned there, could even remember the brief conscious period under the water where his lungs had _burned_ and he had been gasping in nothing but water; his eyes and throat and lungs all screaming in a way he _never_ wanted to feel again. He had passed out after that, sure he would die, but he had woken a long time later on the shore of another land, his lungs, throat, nose, stomach, eyes and muscles all screaming and raw like he had taken sandpaper to his insides.

Even so very long after the fact Skull cannot find the words to describe the horror he had felt upon realizing he could not die.

It was not pleasant to realize that for Skull there would never _be_ an end.

He had lived for a long while after the first hints of his immortality, had interacted and loved people around himself, had lived as if he could die, even after the first two hundred years he had kept going.

Then the first five hundred had passed.

And then one thousand.

At first Skull had thought he would be unable to die of old age only.

Fifteen hundred years into his life Skull had tested his Immorality and had known for sure what he had only suspected until that point.

He couldn't die.

Nothing killed him. He just woke up with his body put back together with the echoes of whatever pain he had been caused there to greet him.

The Witch Trials had been _hell_. Burning alive was not pleasant.

Hated by the Grim Reaper indeed.


	4. Chapter 4

The Arcobaleno were hard to get along with at first.

They were suspicious of Skull, a man who had been almost nothing but a robot until the Curse. A man who woke up after That Day, who had opened his eyes that had been so very _dull_ before, to reveal something _dangerous._

The Arcobaleno were not stupid. They knew to be one of the Strongest Seven Skull had to be dangerous in some way, but that day it had been like watching a kitten turn into a panther in the space of a blink.

Something had changed about the Arcobaleno Cloud and none of them knew what to make of it. It didn't help that for some reason the Cloud seemed to be _happy_ about the Curse and that he was now in a two year old body.

Skull could understand the reactions the other Arcobaleno had, but it was kind of grating on him. They were such…._children_ compared to him and it was tiring in a way he wasn't used to.

Still, despite this Skull preserved and he was honestly so _happy_ about the chance to end his immortality that it wasn't really something that annoyed him too much.

It also helped that as the people that had discovered the Curse- his first glimpse of Hope in such a very long time- with Skull he had decided he wanted to know them.


	5. Chapter 5

In the beginning, Skull had wanted to know the Arcobaleno, but he had still wanted to die.

It sounded bad if anyone heard it, but they had such _short_ lives, they didn't understand what it was like to never see the end of it, how _appealing_ the idea of eternal rest became after so long.

That was in the beginning though.

As time passed, and Skull- now fully 'awake' and focused on the people and things around him- interacted with the Arcobaleno and the world around him Skull found a new purpose emerging from his hope.

If this was truly to be his final years on the planet, Skull decided he wanted to live them to the fullest in the way he had stopped doing after the first thousand years.

He wanted to _enjoy_ life again.

He wanted to see the world and its people through the eyes of the people around him, wanted to laugh, and love and be happy one last time before he went to greet all those who had passed before him. (And Skull was fully aware that if they _were_ waiting for him at the end, they were going to be rather cross with him over the millennia of indifference and apathy were he had allowed his body to move like a robot and had placed his mind…elsewhere, but he would just be glad to see those he still loved even now eons later when their faces and names had faded but their core being was still remembered and cherished.)

It was hard, Skull could admit to that. He had had the mindset of indifference and the knowledge that he would never die for so long that even though he had _decided_ to live again, it still took quite a bit of effort.

Skull was kind of _glad_ that his Arcobaleno body had been frozen at two years old despite the 30 or so years that had passed since the Curse was first placed on him.

It gave him the time to work through some of his issues and habits so that, when it was over, he _could_ live again.

Luce was actually a _huge_ help in that time frame as was her daughter.

The Seer had known, even without Skull telling her, what had happened to him, and what he had decided, what Skull had been through and planned and she had set out to help him accomplish that.

Luce had earned herself one hell of a Guardian that way, though it had not been planned on her part.

And Skull had found himself someone _he_ considered worthy of his protection and loyalty and respect and he allowed her to guide him.

Luce was not his Queen, had not earned the right of a bowed head from him had not earned his devotion, but she had earned his protection and council, had earned his loyalty and respect, and he had been sad when she passed away.


	6. Chapter 6

Atlantis had been a city of warriors. A people who had been taught since the moment their bodies could handle it without damaging their growth or health how to fight.

As a race of nothing but warriors they were a rather prideful lot.

The Atlantian people had been taught pride and loyalty and devotion long before they had understood the words they were told. They were taught the value of _choosing_ who to be loyal to, of never _ever_ bowing your head to _anyone_ unless they had earned it.

Even the Royal Family of Atlantis had to _earn_ the loyalty and devotion of their warriors and guardians. Each warrior in the service of the Family had _chosen_ to be there, and had been accepted by the Royal Family.

Loyalty and Devotion meant different things to someone from Atlantis.

An Atlantian could be loyal to family, and friends, to a cause or a promise. Loyalty would mean walking with someone into hell, would mean trusting someone at their back, but never going unarmed in their presence just in case it was needed. Loyalty meant allowing that person to guide the Atlantian Warrior's actions, like a General telling them where to go and what to do. Loyalty meant many things, but in never meant bowing to that person.

Devotion on the other hand meant the Atlantian trusted the person they gave it to so completely they would follow that person no matter where they led. Trusted them enough to be vulnerable in their presence, trusted them enough to bow their head, expose their neck, allow them close without protest, trusted them enough to lower themselves into a position of vulnerability to leave behind their weapons if they were asked, to kneel before the person. It meant the Atlantian would not move even when that person approached them with a weapon, that they would trust that person so completely and defend them to the death.

Atlantian Warriors were powerful, prideful but loyal people. It was difficult to earn their loyalty and near impossible to earn their devotion, but once it was done the Warrior was loyal until death took them or something was done that the Warrior saw as an unforgivable act of betrayal.

Eras passed before the Skull became an Arcobaleno and found people he considered worthy of his loyalty.

It was nice to be among people who could be considered warriors of their own again.


	7. Chapter 7

The first time Skull sees Tsunayoshi Sawada he almost chokes on his tongue.

He had done a triple-take and he couldn't even help it.

Tsuna was a walking miniature of his old friend with brown hair and eyes.

When Tsuna started collecting his own guardians Skull couldn't _believe_ what he was seeing. If it wasn't happening right in front of him, he would have called it exaggeration or some sort of telephone-game gone wrong or something along those lines when people whispered of the second coming of the Vongola First Generation.

As it was, it _was_ happening right in front of him, and Skull wondered if his old friends had been reincarnated.

It was ridiculous.

Each of the First Generation had their own doubles, and Daemon even had _two_, although the female of the two kind of reminded him of Daemon's wife personality wise.

And not only were they nearly identical physically but the personality traits were even alike.

By the time Skull had observed them for a month, despite some differences between the two generations, he was _absolutely sure_ his old friends had been reincarnated and nothing anyone ever said was going to convince him otherwise.

(Skull even found himself getting drawn in by Tsuna, and it _wasn't_ just because he reminded Skull of Giotto.)

Later on, when Tsuna had started remaking the Vongola into a vigilante-like group Skull laughed so hard he cried.

_Literally_ just like his Grandfather.

Skull made himself a promise to sit down one day with the Tenth Generation and tell them stories of their predecessors, just so he could laugh when they all realized how alike the two generations were.


	8. Chapter 8

**Computers hate me. There's no other explanation for the way they seem to do EVERYTHING except burst into fire when I touch them. **

**Like. COME ON. **

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Oodako was Skull's beloved pet and companion. Oodako was his partner.

He remembered the day after the Curse was applied was when the Arcobaleno had received their companions.

He could remember how amused he had been to receive a water-dwelling companion, and he could also remember the shock of the others when Skull had sat down and in a few hours designed a breathing device for Oodako to be able to leave the ocean and follow him no matter where he was. (Skull may have been a Warrior first in Atlantis but that _did not_ mean he had been all brawn and no brain. He was actually rather intelligent thank you very much)

He had looked up some of the symbolism for the Octopus after receiving Oodako.

He had laughed.

It symbolized many different things including will, focus, defense, mystery, strategy, potential, creativity, flexibility, expansion, complexity, intelligence, adaptability, unpredictability, time and regeneration.

Many if not all of the symbolisms had applied in some way to Skull.

It only succeeded in making him adore Oodako even more.


	9. Chapter 9

Skull liked Tsuna, had been drawn in by him, but it is not until he hears Tsunayoshi Sawada declare that he would _destroy_ Vongola before he would inherit their sins that he _respects_ him.

Skull had never mentioned it, but he had been loyal to Giotto all those years ago. He hadn't been his Guardian, but he had been an advisor and had protected him a few times when his Guardians had been otherwise occupied. (A bit like Reborn is to Tsuna actually)

He would have _stayed_ loyal to Vongola if they had stayed loyal to Giotto's ideals when he moved to Japan.

They hadn't- they had walked down a path bathed in blood- and so Skull had moved on though he kept an eye on each generation after just in case.

When Tsunayoshi comes along and he tells the world that he will burn Vongola to the ground before he takes on their sins, and Skull can see he _means it_…

Skull grins.

_This_ would be Giotto's true heir.


	10. Chapter 10

Skull isn't actually sure how it happens.

He just sort of…gets pulled in.

The kid is ridiculously magnetizing. He pulls people in. He doesn't ask them to change for him, but he brings out the best in them.

Makes them _want_ to change. _Want_ to be better.

Tsuna is like light in the darkness. A sign of hope, and comfort. Something that anyone who spends a significant amount of time in the dark will cling to and shield to the best of their abilities.

A bright shining light that has stepped into one of the darkest places in the world- the Mafia.

He's pulling in the strongest people in the world and he doesn't even realize it.

Skull supposes that is why the pull is so strong on the most powerful of them. They're used to people _trying _to pull them in for their own gain, but Tsuna…

Tsuna doesn't do that- isn't even aware he's doing it. He just genuinely wants them all to be happy and safe.

His smirk is soft and fond along the edges.

Foolish kid.

Skull would watch out for him though. Even if he hadn't been Giotto's many greats grandson Skull would have watched out for a kid this light and welcoming.


	11. Chapter 11

Skull doesn't interfere directly in the events that shape Vongola. He watches it all from the background though. He follows behind the Tenth Generation of his friend's family, and he grins to himself as he watches the little ball of fluff that is Tsunayoshi Sawada grow fangs and claws.

He would have done well in Atlantis.

Skull sort of wishes he could show his home to this family.

They would have thrived there, Skull knows. They would have appreciated all that it was. They would have looked and seen something _glorious._

He mourns that this family would never see Atlantis at its peak. He mourns that Skull alone will be the only person to ever know what that was like.

(In the back if his mind, Skull thinks Tsuna would have made a good King.)

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**Does anyone feel like drawling me a cover image for this of Skull in Atlantian Armor because I will love you forever?**

**(And will totally offer a oneshot as bribes to whoever ends up getting chosen as the cover image)**


	12. Chapter 12

_The world breaks. _

_The sky shatters._

_The plants die, the ocean rises. Everywhere she looks, she sees the end of all things._

_And she thinks to herself: _"No!"

_The vision shifts, and she can see the back of her General._

_He stands strong in front of her, and as she watches he strides forward._

_She sees the world pause. Then it begins to move in reverse even as her General continues to march forward._

_The broken lands come together, the sky heals. Plants bloom in his footsteps, the ocean recedes. Everywhere she looks she sees hope._

For the World to continue on he must be sent forward. If any other were to take his place, she knows she would see the Earth shatter apart as it had in her first visions. Her General is the key.

And so the Seer mourns for her General. She mourns for the eons that will pass him by. She mourns for the loss he will suffer, but even as she mourns for what is to pass she knows that it must.

And so the Seer twists her magic to her will and allows it to settle over her General when he next sleeps. And she whispers to him despite knowing he will not hear her.

"I am so sorry. I am sorry for the curse I lay on you now…but for the Earth to thrive _he_ will need the proper Cloud. Know that when the time is right, this curse will be no more. It will take eons…but know that you will not _always_ be Immortal."

And when the Seer is done, she slips out of the room and finds the man that will become known as Checkerface. Known as The Man in the Iron Hat.

And she tells him. She tells him of what she had done without giving him names. Instead she gives him a prophecy.

_When the time of the True Sky is upon you, you must choose the Skull of our Waters. The Sky will bring the Clam back to its roots and the world will right itself only with the proper Cloud._

(Much, _much_ later Kawahira will laugh. He had watched Vongola for generations, but it is not until Tsunayoshi Sawada stands in front of him and declares his system to be outdated that this prophesy comes back to him and everything clicks into place.

He had chosen a Cloud named Skull who was from Atlantis.

And standing before him is a powerful _proper_ Sky who declares '_No more'_ and proceeds to shatter his system apart and replace it. A Sky from Vongola who declared to all who would listen that he would change the mafia. That he would destroy Vongola itself.

The world turns on…and Kawahira knows.

The prophesy of Atlantis' Seer had come to pass.)


	13. Chapter 13

When the Curse is broken Skull watches the aging of his body with awe.

He hadn't seen his body age since that time hundreds of thousands of millions of years ago when his body just stopped at age 23.

Skull knows he owes the breaking of his curse to Tsunayoshi Sawada.

He knows that the only reason he is watching his body age up for the first time in ages is due to Tsunayoshi declaring 'No More' in the face of a system everyone had thought impossible to break or replace.

Skull had watched the Tenth Generation of Vongola bloom into something glorious from struggles and blood spilled and the will to stand up for _good_. He'd watched it all from the start. He'd found himself attached to them, found himself protective and amused and content to follow behind Tsuna.

Skull had been proud of them, had known Giotto would be proud of his grandson and the family he had built.

But it is in that moment, the moment Skull realizes it is because of Tsuna that he is watching his body _age_ that Skull makes a choice.

He will follow this Sky.

(And as the months go past, Skull never once regrets this choice. He only finds that his loyalty and trust deepen and strengthen.

Half a year after his choice Skull sits Tsuna, his Guardians, and the Arcobaleno down to explain his age and origin.)

(He spends the next couple of months answering the absolute flurry of questions thrown at him from all directions before it slows down to manageable amounts, but never quite manages to stop.)

(He also becomes the only living being with a group photo of the Arcobaleno where every single one of them are wearing shocked expressions in the photo.

He frames a copy and it has a place of honor in his room. Any time the picture 'disappears' he just replaces it.)

(He laughs at the Arcobaleno's struggles to get rid of the photo.

He's _pretty sure_ Tsunayoshi was the one to steal the first copy for himself though.)


	14. Chapter 14

Six months after his Arcobaleno Curse is lifted, Skull decides it is time to tell the others where he is from.

He gathers Tsuna, his Guardians and the Arcobaleno together for that first retelling. It's on one of Tsuna's Family Nights. At least once a month, Tsuna pulls his family together and insists that they sit together and talk, tell stories, play games...

That for a night at least they be a simple family with no talk of negotiations or jobs, hits or the Mafia.

When it starts Skull commandeers the attention of the entire room.

He'd always had a gift for tales. He had been told many times that his voice was mesmerizing when he spoke and told stories. That it seemed to echo and boom to his listeners, like the voice of an ancient god or being speaking of things that have happened or will happen.

He uses that ability to call the attention of all in the room to him.

"Once, many, many eons ago," he begins and his voice is low as all eyes turn his way "right in the center of what the world now calls the Bermuda Triangle there existed a city."

The room falls silent as Skull talks of a city of warriors, who valued loyalty and devotion, honor and strength. Of a city of warriors that recognized all sorts of strengths, that was ruled by a powerful and fair King and Queen.

They room is silent as Skull speaks of a boy who grew into a man. A man that would become a Warrior. A Warrior that climbed his way to the top until he stood as General. Of a General that searched and searched for the right King to pledge himself to, for no warrior of this great city gave their loyalty to those who had not earned it.

Skull spoke of this man going into battle many, many times until he found someone worthy of his loyalty in the city's King. He spoke of how the man tested the King in many ways before he pledged his devotion many years later, and what the difference between loyalty and devotion was to the warriors of this great city.

He spoke of battles fought and won, of missions the man took, of the many situations this man found himself in.

Until he spoke of the day this great city fell. Of the volcanos erupting, and the earthquakes that shook the earth. Of the man being herded away, struggling to avoid both molten lava and fissures ripped under his feet that filled with ocean water superheated by the lava.

He spoke of how the man eventually fell into the ocean when a fissure ripped open under his feet, and how rubble of his falling home had followed him down.

He spoke of the man falling into the darkness of oblivion.

And he spoke of the man waking up. How he discovered on the ocean floor, surrounded by the collapsed remains of his city, choking on the ocean water that burned like fire that he was drowning before falling into oblivion again.

Skull spoke of that man waking up on an unknown island, having drowned but somehow lived.

He spoke of the man traveling from place to place and discovering his city had been destroyed, of how no matter what happened this man was immortal and could not die.

Skull fell silent for a moment, meeting each of the other's eyes, taking in the interest and curiosity until he came to Tsunayoshi. Tsunayoshi who's eyes gleamed that telltale orange of his Intuition, and were wide with a kind of horrified awe and understanding.

Skull's lips twisted into a bitter and tired smile as he spoke again "That man lives even now, eons after the fall of his city, having watched all those he cared about fall and die while he remained unchanging in the face of time. Having lived so long that he withdrew from the world with no hope…until a Curse was placed upon him that finally changed the unchanging. That man's name…was-and is- Skull De Mort, and his great city was once known as Atlantis."

The room stills, and fills with a kind of disbelieving tension. Skull grins to himself, standing from the large armchair he had collapsed into over the course of his story. He straightens himself out, falling into the old salute of Atlantis given from one warrior to another (left arm straightened out and close to his side, right hand fisted and lifted sharply to rest diagonally across his chest and over his heart, head up and eyes forward to meet the eyes of the others) even as he releases the binds on his presence and power, letting it crest and pour over the others in the room.

He knew what his presence felt like:

_The current of the ocean, unending and going only in the direction it chooses. A tidal wave cresting on the horizon- unending power with no hope to change his course. The undertow, catching enemies and yanking them under the ocean before they can catch a breath down and down until the pressure crushes them into nothing. Darkness, able to shield those it chose, but also able to hide the assassin that would kill his enemies._

He pulled his presence back and more than one of the others draw in a sharp breath as if they had been underwater too long.

"Skull…" Tsuna breaks the silence "How old are you?"

Skull scoffs silently "Too old. I lost track after the first eon. I have seen many, many dynasties come and go." He paused and this time the smile that pulls at his lips is mischievous.

"I was there long, long before Giotto di Vongola, Primo of the Vongola created his Famiglia, and I am still here long after during its Tenth Generation. I told you all from the start: I am the Immortal Skull. You all just assumed it was a nickname from all the 'close shaves' with death."

Skull moves on after a moment, thinking of his old friend and smirking as he settles back to share some of the Primo Generation's finest (and worst) moments.

He enjoyed himself as he shared some of Giotto's _Incidents_ with the family, smirking as he informs Tsuna "Your luck was actually inherited from your grandfather you know….and I even know what caused it.'

(The source of the Sawada Family Lines' legendary luck technically wasn't known. Giotto had sworn his Guardians and everyone else involved in it to secrecy and forbidden anyone from ever mentioning it ever again or recording it anywhere.

But Skull had been present for what he would eventually term The Greatest SNAFU of All Time and he had made no such promise.

It had involved Giotto, his Guardians, bandits, a runaway carriage, a noble woman, the noble woman's two-year-old twin girls and her father, a donkey, Daemon- who as a main part of the cause deserved a separate mention from the rest of the Guardians- Mist Flames, Skull himself, and an accident with another powerful Chinese Mist User.

The end result had had a very angry but also amused Chinese Mist User looking Giotto dead in the eye and telling him 'May you and all of your family live in interesting times.')

After sharing the entirety of The Greatest SNAFU of All Time- leaving many with amused reactions ranging from wide smirks to wheezing laughter and no ability to breathe or in some cases with their face buried in their hands with utter mortification and/or secondhand embarrassment- Giotto himself had appeared from Tsuna's ring waling about how Skull was never, ever supposed to mention that _ever_.

(Incidentally, it is this revelation where Giotto accidently confirmed to everyone that Skull had been present for the incident and thus was telling the truth, that caused the group picture of shocked faces Skull made so many copies of.)

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**The Greatest SNAFU of All Time actually stands for The Greatest Situation Normal All Fucked Up of All Time for those who didn't know what SNAFU meant.**


	15. Chapter 15

It had been a very, _very_ long time since Skull had found himself a King. Someone he considered worthy of devotion and respect and love in that way. Someone he would follow unquestioningly wherever he led.

Skull had watched Tsunayoshi Sawada from the very beginning. Had watched him struggle and scream and thrash as he was dragged into the Mafia. Had watched him stand again and again in defense of his people even as he dreaded and hated it. Had watched as Tsuna stood firm in front of those who should have, by all rights, defeated him and win.

Had watched as Tsuna had realized he would be dragged into the dark one way or another no matter what he did.

And Skull had watched as, upon _having_ that realization, Tsunayoshi had decided to and _succeeded_ in bringing Vongola to its roots. Had watched as Tsuna fought, cried, sweated and _bled_ for that belief, and had become a shining light in the darkness of the Mafia. Watched as Tsuna did the impossible.

Skull had watched, observed and judged and Skull had found that for the first time since the days of his childhood in Atlantis he did not mind bowing his head to another person.

He found that he thought someone was _worthy_ of that respect. Had found someone who had _earned_ that protection and regard without trying to do so. Had earned that right simply by being himself.

It didn't even have anything to do with Tsuna breaking the Arcobaleno Curse.

Tsunayoshi had earned Skull's regard through all his other actions.

For the way Tsuna was a True Sky the likes of which rarely _ever_ graced the Earth. (And Skull would know considering how long he had roamed it)

For his stubborn refusal to let go of his morals and beliefs despite where he stood.

For the steadfast loyalty and devotion Tsuna gave to those who followed him.

For the way he protected all who came to him in need of it, even if that person didn't know they needed protecting.

It had been a very, _**very**_ long time since Skull had found someone he considered worthy of being his King, but Tsunayoshi Sawada had earned it.

(Skull finds he is very grateful for the choice he had made a year ago when the Arcobaleno Curse was first broken and he chose to follow Tsuna and give him his loyalty. That choice had shown Skull that Tsuna really was a good King after all.)


	16. Chapter 16

The day Skull decides to reveal his choice of King is a normal day. The sun is out, it's rather cloudy but there's no hint of a storm, there's a nice breeze and there's no real 'emergencies' happening.

The only people there to witness the event are the Arcobaleno, Tsuna and his Guardians.

Skull arranged the whole thing so he caught everyone inside the Ballroom of the manor.

This was an important event, but it was for those that Skull considered family, and he knew Tsuna wouldn't want something so formal and stuffy so he had compromised. (Skull had decided on the Ballroom because it was a formal place without being _too_ formal.)

The Vongola Ballroom was set up so the only easy entrance into the manor itself was actually up the stairs- it was designed this way so that if anyone invited to the manor wanted to get into the actual living area they would need to go up the stairs and thus be easily spotted and dealt with. It also allowed Tsuna, his Guardians and the Arcobaleno to make an Entrance (with a capital 'e') whenever they used to Ballroom.

There were a few secret entrances into the manor for those who lived there, but they were set up to only open if the Flame of whoever was trying to use them was keyed into them by the Boss- so even if someone managed to find where they could key their Flames in, they needed to have willingly given Flames from Tsuna when first being keyed in as well or it would set off silent alarms.

Skull had arranged it all so the Arcobaleno and Tsuna's Guardians all arrived before Tsuna himself. They climbed down the stairs quickly and joined Skull who stood at the dead center of the foot of the stairs.

"I called you all here to Witness." Skull spoke as they approached him.

The others didn't know what they were there to Witness, but it was an important thing to be called for, as it implied a level of trust from whoever called the Witnesses.

So despite the questions Skull knew they all had, they only nodded and moved to spread out behind him so that he stood at the head of a 'V' formation.

O~O~O~

Tsuna had been aware since the moment he woke up that something important would happen that day.

He hadn't known what it would be only that it would be important, and not something bad. So when Skull asked him to meet him in the Ballroom Tsuna had agreed without any fuss, only curiosity.

He arrived to the Ballroom only to see his Guardians and the Arcobaleno all standing spread out behind Skull with Skull standing at the center of the foot of the stairs.

He paused at the top of the stairs a moment as his Intuition spiked telling him whatever was going to happen today, this was it, before he continued down.

Skull's posture and voice stopped Tsuna from descending completely down the stairs, stopping two steps above Skull's form.

"Tsunayoshi Sawada." Skull paused and everyone in the room straightened up feeling as Skull's Flames stirred and rose up, not in a threatening way, but as a representation of his resolve in what he was about to say.

"I have watched you for a very long time. Since the beginning when Reborn came into your life. You know now that I have been alive since before Atlantis fell into the ocean. You know that I served Atlantis' Royal Family as their General and most fierce warrior and defender."

Tsuna nodded slowly.

Skull's eyes were glowing with his Flames and resolve and staring into Tsuna's own as they had been since Tsuna had paused on the stairs.

"I have seen kingdoms come and go, societies rise and fall, and people change the world, come and go, live and die."

Another pause and Skull's flames rise even higher. "I have seen these things, but until you I have not seen another King."

Skull straightened up, his left arm straight at his side while his right fist clenched and rose to rest directly over his heart before he smoothly knelt at the base of the stairs and lowered his head into the bow he had only ever given to his King and Queen so very long ago.

He heard sharp breathes be drawn by everyone in the room.

They knew the significance of a Warrior of Atlantis, of Skull, bowing before Tsuna as he was now doing. The Customs of Atlantis had been some of the first questions to be asked all those months ago.

"I have watched you for many years Tsunayoshi Sawada and in you I see a King worth following and protecting."

"On this day I pledge to follow you. I pledge to serve you until the day I cease to breathe, and should I, for some reason, live longer then you I pledge to follow your ideals and wishes even when you are not here to guide me. On this day, I have chosen my King." Skull's Flames flared into visibility around him sealing his words with resolve and truth.

Skull did not lift his head from his kneeling bow even after he finished speaking, waiting for Tsuna's response.

Skull had taught them all what this meant and what the responses of the 'King' could be and what they meant.

After a few seconds of stunned silence Tsunayoshi spoke "I see you, Skull, as worthy to be my Warrior and Defender, I acknowledge and welcome your pledge and your choice of King. I thank you for your pledge, and shall seek to be worthy of your choice."

Skull still did not move until Tsuna's hand pressed against his neck. Only after Tsuna removed his hand did Skull lift his head and meet Tsuna's eyes again.

Tsuna looked like a strong breeze would knock him over.

Skull almost laughed.


	17. Chapter 17

The aging process for the Arcobaleno was weird. It happened in bursts over a period of years. They went form two-years-old to four-years-old to sixteen. As they approached the ages they were when the Arcobaleno Curse was applied the aging slowed. Skull's last jump had placed him at twenty years old and he knows his next jump will place him at 23- the age he had been before the Curse of the Rainbow, and the age he had been eternally frozen.

In the months before Skull turns 23 a second time, and a year after he pledges himself to Tsuna, he finds himself panicking.

And not just a little bit. He finds himself having panic attacks. His breath catching in his chest, a vice squeezing and squeezing around his chest until he can't draw a breath into his lungs. Until he wants to curl up in a dark room and not come out.

He can't help it.

He'd basked in watching his body age up from a two-year-old, but as he approaches the age where everything had started (where everything had ended) he can't help but wonder…

Will he stop aging for a second time?

Will he be forced to watch those around him age and die again?

To watch his King age and die, his new family pass away while he remained eternal?

He knows the others worry about him, but he can't find it in himself to explain the cause. They know he had been around since Atlantis, but Skull also knows that it hasn't truly dawned on any of them what that _means_. They think immortal, but they don't associate it with Skull outliving all of them.

All of time.

And then Checkerface- Kawahira- kidnaps him.


	18. Chapter 18

Skull is not happy to be kidnapped- especially in the middle of an emotional crisis- and he is perfectly willing to make that fact known.

Until Kawahira explains.

He tells Skull of a Seer on Atlantis who had seen the future of the world. Who had seen the world shatter and break. A world that collapsed in on itself and brought about the End of Times.

Of a Seer who had seen Skull step forward in time and change everything.

How that one change would not only save the world, but see the system Kawahira had used for eons stopped. How having Skull take his place as Cloud Arcobaleno would see the world fixing itself.

He tells Skull of the Seer who chose to place the curse of Immortality on him so he would reach that point- this point- in time.

And Skull learns of the sacrifice Atlantis had made, of the combined efforts of the Elders and the Seer that would power the magic that made him immortal. He learns of how Atlantis fell after their efforts, drained of the magic that held it up.

And he mourns.

Even as Kawahira explains that Atlantis would have fallen shortly after that anyway, Skull still mourns the knowledge that making him immortal had been the thing to tip the balance that much sooner.

He listens as Kawahira lays the facts out for him.

And then Skull is given the news he had been waiting so long to hear.

"The magic was meant to stop the day your Arcobaleno Curse was broken. You are no longer Immortal Skull. You are simply Skull of Atlantis, Skull of Vongola, and you will live and die as all mortals are meant to."

Skull cries.

O~O~O~

When he gets back to the mansion only to find the family that had taken him in, and taught him to live again- truly live again- all mobilizing on his behalf, ready to declare war on whoever or whatever had taken him…

Skull smiles, because he will get to live with them.

And he will die with them.

And Skull can live with that.

He can really, _truly_ live with that for the first time since his life on Atlantis.

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

**ITS FINALLY HAPPENED I FINISHED A MULTICHAPTER OHMYGOD.**

**…..I THINK I'M GOING TO CRY. I FINALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT ALL THE OTHER AUTHORS WERE TALKING ABOUT.**

**I'm still waiting on a few of the fan art submissions (which is **_**absolutely fine-**_**take your time) so I will let the winner know once I have them all.**


End file.
